International patent application, publication number WO/2013/178550 discloses a method for making a construction comprising a steel substrate body coated with a layer of relatively harder material. The method may include providing a plurality of granules comprising iron (Fe), silicon (Si) and a source of carbon (C), in which the relative quantities of the Fe, Si and are selected such that the combination of the Fe, Si and C has a phase liquidus temperature of at most about 1,280 degrees Celsius; and depositing the granules onto the substrate body by means of a thermal spray assembly. The thermal spraying process will involve heating the granules to a temperature of at least about 1,350 degrees Celsius at a mean rate of at least about 100 degrees Celsius per second, and the cooling of the granules to less than about 1,000 degrees Celsius at a mean rate of at least about 20 degrees per second on contact with the substrate body.
There is a need to provide an apparatus and method for efficiently spraying material having a relatively low melting point, granules for use with the thermal spray device and methods of using it.